Ginny and Georgia is a Netflix original show that follows a high school sophomore named Ginny, and her family after they move to Wellsbury, Michigan for a fresh start after their stepfather Kenny’s unexpected death. The first season was released on February 4th 2021, and it was announced at the start of the week that the 3rd season will be coming to Netflix in 2024.
On paper that doesn’t sound very groundbreaking, but in the opening scene we get the hint that we’re not watching a normal family, Ginny is driving with Georgia; her mother, in the passenger seat and her little brother Austin in the back. Georgia and Austin are singing along to “It wasn’t me” together wich as Ginny will state, is not an appropriate song for her brother to be listening to, let alone singing along to with his mother. This opening scene establishes Georgia as a more laid back parent who’s more like a friend to her children than a mother. As we later find out Georgia is very popular with men, she’s dated her fair share of people, and has had an on and off again relationship with Ginny’s father Zion all Ginny’s life. We also learn that Ginny’s family moves around alot, and this has caused Ginny to never really have friends before.
Ginny is mixed race wich (half black half white) and it’s so refreshing to see a mixed race person’s story being told on screen. Ginny’s race isn’t the focal point of the story, but it’s still an important part of it. We the audience get to see everything that comes with living as a mixed kid. The questions people ask, never really fitting in with either side of your ethnicity, not feeling like you belong to any culture at all. It’s an experience that isn’t shown enough on TV and Ginny and Georgia does a great job exploring Ginny’s identity race wise.
The show gives depth to the femme fatale archetype. Georgia is seductive, she has power over men and she uses that to her benefit. She’s caused disaster to strike in the lives of the men she’s had relationships with. Georgia is a textbook femme fatale, but what keeps her from becoming just another trope is that she has layers. Georgia is an incredibly complex character, she’s a mother, she’s a wife, she’s a friend. Her whole personality isn’t based on her sex appeal like most of the femme fatales that came before her, sure it’s definitely a part of her character but it’s just one part of who she is.
Ginny and Georgia depicts mental health struggles without glamorizing them. The character Marcus has depression, and the show touches on the topic without making it seem like something that just makes a person mysterious and edgy which is very much appreciated. We see Marcus go through ups and downs and its an incredibly realistic depiction of what depression is really like for those struggling.
The show provides effortless queer and disability representation. There are so many queer people in the show and they’re all so different from each other which is like taking a breath of fresh air because shows love to make their one gay character a walking stereotype. The character Maxine’s father is deaf and the show doesn’t make a huge deal out of it, it makes sure that the audience knows that they’re a normal family like everyone else in Welsbury.
Ginny and Georgia is an amazing show, it pushes important topics to the forefront and it provides so much representation in a way that doesn’t feel forced. It reinvents the idea of the femme fatale through Georgia. If you’re looking for a new show to binge consider giving Ginny and Georgia a try.
